"Secret Origins of the Graphic Novel" at East Line Books, Clifton Park NY

NOTE:
Due to circumstances beyond my or East Line Books' control,
this event has been CANCELLED. See above for more information.

For those of you who might find yourself in or around New York's Capital Region next week and are looking for something to do, might I suggest this presentation? Big, big "Thank You!" to Robyn Ringler of East Line Books for the invitation!

"Secret Origins of the Graphic Novel"
A presentation by Gene Kannenberg, Jr.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 6:30pm
East Line Books, Clifton Park, New York

Graphic novels are everywhere, from libraries to bookstores to the New York Times Book Review, and with good reason. There's something for everyone's taste, including history, memoir, humor, politics, science fiction & fantasy, and yes, superheroes. But how did we get from Superman to Maus, from Little Lulu to Persepolis, from Crime Does Not Pay to Road to Perdition?

Gene Kannenberg, Jr. traces the path from pulp to Pulitzer in this heavily illustrated talk. With stops in the U.S. Senate in the 1950s, Berkeley in the 1960s, New York in the 1980s, and more, "Secret origins of the Graphic Novel" opens the world of drawn books to readers of all ages.

A respected comics historian, Gene Kannenberg, Jr. is the director of ComicsResearch.org and the author of 500 Essential Graphic Novels (Collins Design, 2008). He has lectured and written widely about comic art, with essays appearing in publications including The Comics Journal, Studies in American Humor, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Hogan's Alley. He lives in Albany, New York.

East Line Books is located in Old Village Plaza, 1714 Route 9, Clifton Park, NY 12065 (one block north of Rt. 146 on Rt. 9 across from Snyder's Restaurant, between Clifton Park Pizza and Captain's Treasures). For further information, call Robyn Ringler at East Line Books: 518 371-4151.

PS: You can download a PDF of the flyer pictured above by making the clicky here.

Image credit: Abdazign.

Interview at Sequential Tart!

This week's installment of Sequential Tart (one of the top American comics webzines) features an interview with yours truly, with an eventual focus on my new book, 500 Essential Graphic Novels. Rebecca Buchanon, my intrepid interviewer, starts off with biographical questions; readers will learn quite a bit (too much?) about me as well as about the book.

This was my first real interview, and I thank Rebecca and the Tarts for their wide-ranging interest!

Yikes, I almost forgot: Here's the link to the interview. Enter freely, and of your own will.

I've got another interview coming up soon-ish (I'm working on it right now, Tim!), and I'll alert all 22 of my readers once that one's live.

New Publication: 500 Essential Graphic Novels

I'm proud to announce the publication of my first book, 500 Essential Graphic Novels. Well, by "my" I mean that it has my name on the cover, and that I did a lot of the work on it. However, I can't help but acknowledge the contributions of many other writers (see the book for the full list, in addition to some unacknowledged but highly appreciated work by über-pals Mike Rhode and Charles Hatfield), and of my editor Tim Seelig of ILEX Press.

Here's the description from Collins Design, the book's US publisher:

500 Essential Graphic Novels is an all-in-one guide to this exciting form of visual literature.

Including more than 350 authors and 400 artists, this lush volume contains an essential mix of some of the finest visually-stunning stories of our time. From politically-charged non-fiction sagas to imaginative fantasy tales, this ultimate guide has something to satisfy everyone's taste.

The first of its kind, this book focuses on each graphic novel separately, honing in on art technique, style and prose, plus an age rating system so parents will know what is suitable for their children. Chapters are divided by genre, complete with individual plot synopses and star-scaled reviews for each book, providing the reader with a concise and balanced understanding of today's best graphic novels.

You can visit our bibliography entry for 500 Essential Graphic Novels to see a list of the book's contents and other information. I hope to have some "web extras" to go along with the book soon.

(On that page you'll also find our customary Amazon.com ordering link. If you can't find the book at your local shop, please consider using this link to buy the book - or any other book listed and linked to at ComicsResearch.org, for that matter. I receive a small [very!] chunk of change from your purchases, money that helps offset the costs of running this website. End of commercial.)

Special thanks go to my pal Tim Pilcher for nominating me for the gig in the first place; you might recall that I assisted Tim on his book Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Zap Comix. He also runs the blog Sex, Drugs & Comic Books. Also, here's a shout-out to über-friends Brad & Liz Brooks for introducing me to Tim in the first place; Brad's the co-author with Tim of The Essential Guide to World Comics, and Brad & Liz run Sequential Design. Finally, massive thanks and love to K. A. Laity, who had to endure not just me but also a house even more covered in books than is our crazy norm.